Effect of adjuvants on the efficiency of dimethomorph plus mancozeb (Acrobat 2 kg:ha) on the control of late blight

Industrial adjuvants were tested in combination with dimethomorph plus mancozeb (Acrobat 2 kg/ha) in the field to investigate their efficacy on foliar late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans. The tested adjuvant fungicide treatments for late blight control were applied 5 times at 7-day intervals. The effect of the adjuvant fungicide treatments on epidemic development, tuber rot and blight incidence and tuber yields were determined. Last summer late blight development was arrested in July due to high temperatures and lasting drought. August was characterized by rather low temperatures and high rainfall. These weather conditions were very favourable for the development of late blight. Due to the heat waves of June and July the foliage started to die allready in Agust. Because of that no incidence of foliage blight was scored. No significant differences in yield were observed for the different treatments applied. The addition of an adjuvant had a clearly positive effect on the tuber yield. In the control 12,7 % infected tubers were observed. The mean tuber infection of plots sprayed with the Acrobat-adjuvant combinations was 7,4 %

Effect of adjuvants on the efficiency of benthiavalicarb plus mancozeb (Valbon 1.6 kg/ha) on the control of late blight in potato

Industrial adjuvants were tested in combination with benthiavalicarb plus mancozeb (Valbon 1.6 kg/ha) in the field to investigate their efficacy on foliar late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans. The tested adjuvant-fungicide treatments for late blight control were applied 6 times at 7-day intervals. The effect of the adjuvant-fungicide treatments on epidemic development, tuber blight and tuber yields were determined. Because of the favourable weather conditions a high disease pressure could be observed. The incidence of foliage blight was scored and at the end of the growing season the disease level was lower in plots sprayed with the Valbon-adjuvant combinations than in plots treated with only Valbon. The addition of an adjuvant had a clearly positive effect on the tuber yield although the differences were not significant. In the plots treated with Valbon 6.9 % infected tubers were observed. The mean tuber infection of plots sprayed with the Valbon-adjuvant combinations fluctuated between 2.3 and 15.6 %

Storage, fertilization and cost properties highlight the potential of dried microbial biomass as organic fertilizer

The transition to sustainable agriculture and horticulture is a societal challenge of global importance. Fertilization with a minimum impact on the environment can facilitate this. Organic fertilizers can play an important role, given their typical release pattern and production through resource recovery. Microbial fertilizers (MFs) constitute an emerging class of organic fertilizers and consist of dried microbial biomass, for instance produced on effluents from the food and beverage industry. In this study, three groups of organisms were tested as MFs: a high-rate consortium aerobic bacteria (CAB), the microalgaArthrospira platensis('Spirulina') and a purple non-sulfur bacterium (PNSB)Rhodobactersp. During storage as dry products, the MFs showed light hygroscopic activity, but the mineral and organic fractions remained stable over a storage period of 91 days. For biological tests, a reference organic fertilizer (ROF) was used as positive control, and a commercial organic growing medium (GM) as substrate. The mineralization patterns without and with plants were similar for all MFs and ROF, with more than 70% of the organic nitrogen mineralized in 77 days. In a first fertilization trial with parsley, all MFs showed equal performance compared to ROF, and the plant fresh weight was even higher with CAB fertilization. CAB was subsequently used in a follow-up trial with petunia and resulted in elevated plant height, comparable chlorophyll content and a higher amount of flowers compared to ROF. Finally, a cost estimation for packed GM with supplemented fertilizer indicated that CAB and a blend of CAB/PNSB (85%/15%) were most cost competitive, with an increase of 6% and 7% in cost compared to ROF. In conclusion, as bio-based fertilizers, MFs have the potential to contribute to sustainable plant nutrition, performing as good as a commercially available organic fertilizer, and to a circular economy

Gps tracking data of western marsh harriers breeding in belgium and the Netherlands

In this data paper three datasets are described containing GPS tracking and acceleration data of Western marsh harriers (Circus aeruginosus) breeding in Belgium and the Netherlands. The Western marsh harrier is included as a threatened bird species in Annex I of the European Bird Directive due to the steep decline in population densities. In order to collect data of habitat use and migration behaviour, Western marsh harriers were equipped with light-weight solar powered GPS trackers developed by the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam (University of Amsterdam Bird Tracking System, UvA-BiTS). These trackers automatically collect and store data on the bird’s activity and 3D position in time and transmit these data to ground stations. The datasets were collected by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) and the Dutch Montagu’s Harrier Foundation. Tracked Western marsh harriers were breeding in the northeast of the Dutch province of Groningen and on the opposite side of the river Ems in Germany (H_GRONINGEN), in the region of Waterland-Oudeman near the Belgian-Dutch border (MH_WATERLAND), and at the left bank of the Scheldt estuary, close to the Belgian-Dutch border and north of the city of Antwerp (MH_ANTWERPEN). Most individuals remained within 10 km from their nesting sites during the breeding season and wintered in West Africa. H_GRONINGEN contains 987,493 GPS fixes and 3,853,859 acceleration records of four individuals since 2012. MH_WATERLAND contains 377,910 GPS fixes of seven individuals. Sampling in this region began in 2013. Three more Western marsh harriers were tagged in the Scheldt estuary near Antwerp more recently in 2018 (one individual) and 2019 (two individuals) for the MH_ANTWERPEN study, which contains 47,917 GPS fixes and 227,746 acceleration records. The three Western marsh harrier datasets were published as separate studies in Movebank (https://www. movebank.org) and archived as data packages in Zenodo (https://www.zenodo.org) to ensure long-term preservation and versioning of the data

Toxicity Ranking and Toxic Mode of Action Evaluation of Commonly Used Agricultural Adjuvants on the Basis of Bacterial Gene Expression Profiles

The omnipresent group of pesticide adjuvants are often referred to as “inert” ingredients, a rather misleading term since consumers associate this term with “safe”. The upcoming new EU regulation concerning the introduction of plant protection products on the market (EC1107/2009) includes for the first time the demand for information on the possible negative effects of not only the active ingredients but also the used adjuvants. This new regulation requires basic toxicological information that allows decisions on the use/ban or preference of use of available adjuvants. In this study we obtained toxicological relevant information through a multiple endpoint reporter assay for a broad selection of commonly used adjuvants including several solvents (e.g. isophorone) and non-ionic surfactants (e.g. ethoxylated alcohols). The used assay allows the toxicity screening in a mechanistic way, with direct measurement of specific toxicological responses (e.g. oxidative stress, DNA damage, membrane damage and general cell lesions). The results show that the selected solvents are less toxic than the surfactants, suggesting that solvents may have a preference of use, but further research on more compounds is needed to confirm this observation. The gene expression profiles of the selected surfactants reveal that a phenol (ethoxylated tristyrylphenol) and an organosilicone surfactant (ethoxylated trisiloxane) show little or no inductions at EC20 concentrations, making them preferred surfactants for use in different applications. The organosilicone surfactant shows little or no toxicity and good adjuvant properties. However, this study also illustrates possible genotoxicity (induction of the bacterial SOS response) for several surfactants (POEA, AE, tri-EO, EO FA and EO NP) and one solvent (gamma-butyrolactone). Although the number of compounds that were evaluated is rather limited (13), the results show that the used reporter assay is a promising tool to rank commonly used agricultural adjuvants based on toxicity and toxic mode of action data

GPS tracking data of Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) from the Netherlands and Belgium

We describe six datasets that contain GPS and accelerometer data of 202 Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) spanning the period 2008–2021. Birds were equipped with GPS trackers in breeding and wintering areas in the Netherlands and Belgium. We used GPS trackers from the University of Amsterdam Bird Tracking System (UvA-BiTS) for several study purposes, including the study of space use during the breeding season, habitat use and foraging behaviour in the winter season, and impacts of human disturbance. To enable broader usage, all data have now been made open access. Combined, the datasets contain 6.0 million GPS positions, 164 million acceleration measurements and 7.0 million classified behaviour events (i.e., flying, walking, foraging, preening, and inactive). The datasets are deposited on the research repository Zenodo, but are also accessible on Movebank and as down-sampled occurrence datasets on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS)

Purple non‐sulphur bacteria and plant production: benefits for fertilization, stress resistance and the environment

Purple non-sulphur bacteria (PNSB) are phototrophic microorganisms, which increasingly gain attention in plant production due to their ability to produce and accumulate high-value compounds that are benefi- cial for plant growth. Remarkable features of PNSB include the accumulation of polyphosphate, the pro- duction of pigments and vitamins and the production of plant growth-promoting substances (PGPSs). Scattered case studies on the application of PNSB for plant cultivation have been reported for decades, yet a comprehensive overview is lacking. This review highlights the potential of using PNSB in plant pro- duction, with emphasis on three key performanceindicators (KPIs): fertilization, resistance to stress (biotic and abiotic) and environmental benefits. PNSB have the potential to enhance plant growth performance, increase the yield and quality of edible plant biomass, boost the resistance to environmental stresses, bioremediate heavy metals and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Here, the mechanisms responsible for these attributes are discussed. A dis- tinction is made between the use of living and dead PNSB cells, where critical interpretation of existing literature revealed the better performance of living cells. Finally, this review presents research gaps that remain yet to be elucidated and proposes a roadmap for future research and implementation paving the way for a more sustainable crop production

Possibilities to use tank-mix adjuvants for better fungicide spreading on triticale ears

Tank-mix adjuvants can increase the overall performance of plant protection products. Their most important ways of action are the improved retention, spreading, wetting, and penetration of the pesticide on the target and the reduction of fine droplets. In this paper, deposition and spreading of the systemic fungicide propiconazole on triticale ears were quantified. A better deposition and spreading of fungicide on the ear may be a possible help for the Fusarium problem in triticale, wheat, and other cereals. Triticale ears were applied with propiconazole in combination with 11 different tank-mix adjuvants. Vegetable oil, alcohol ethoxylates, lactate ester, trisiloxanes, and an amphoteric molecule were included in this experiment. When no tank-mix adjuvant was used, the lower part of the ear was reached five times less by the propiconazole spray than the upper part of the ear. When the tank-mix adjuvant was combined with the propiconazole formulation, an increase in residue on both the upper and the lower part of the ear was observed. A higher residue on the upper half of the ear means a better deposition, while a higher residue on the lower part of the ear is related to a better downward spreading over the grains and the needles of the ear. The combination of those two observations makes it interesting to use tank-mix adjuvants for the prevention of mycotoxin-producing Fusarium species. The advantages are emphasized even more when cost effectiveness was calculated. The use of a proper tank-mix adjuvant can result in 40% lower cost per application per hectare